The International Dyslexia Association definition of dyslexia was updated 20 years ago and has been referenced frequently in research and practice. In this paper, researchers from the Florida Center for Reading Research consider the components of the definition and make recommendations for revisions. These include recognizing the persistence of…

Using data from 11 institutions, the authors investigate enrollments in intermediate microeconomics to determine characteristics of successful and unsuccessful students and follow the retake behavior of unsuccessful students. Successful students are significantly different from unsuccessful ones, and unsuccessful students differ by type…

Online credit recovery (OCR) allows US students at risk of dropping out of school to retake courses to meet graduation requirements and eventually graduate from high school. The problem addressed in this study is that despite participating in online English II credit recovery (ELA II OCR), students in a rural school district in North Florida still…

Over the past half-century, billions of dollars have been spent across the nation on efforts to transform low-performing public schools -- most of them urban, most of them low-income, and most of them disproportionately enrolled with students of color -- into models of success. It hasn't worked. The failure of attempts to remedy the state of urban…

Charter schools began in the 1990s as an experimental alternative to public schools. Today they are a multi-billion dollar sector composed of both nonprofit and for-profit corporations that embrace the philosophy of the marketplace. Supporters of charters see school failure as a natural feature of the model. They argue that schools do not fail at…

In Florida, civic illiteracy among middle and high school students is a pressing concern despite state initiatives to increase civic competence (Florida House of Representatives, 2019; FLDOE, 2023b; Florida Department of State, 2023). Recent scores on state civics and social studies standardized assessments reveal a disheartening fact--an average…

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has been emphasizing the importance of teachers' pedagogical communication as part of mathematical teaching and learning for decades. Specifically, NCTM has provided guidance on how teachers can foster mathematical communication that positively impacts student learning. A teacher may have…

Background and Context: Statewide test-based accountability in the United States began with minimum competency assessments in public schools during the 1970s, starting in Florida and other Southern states. Controversies over IQ (intelligence quotient) testing contributed to the development of "criterion-referenced" exams that became the…

A Comprehensive K-3 Reading Policy establishes support and intensive reading interventions for K-3 students to ensure they read on grade level by the end of third grade. The policy also requires third grade students to demonstrate sufficient reading skills for promotion to fourth grade. For students severely below grade level and who do not…

The goal of a Comprehensive K-3 Reading Policy is to establish intensive reading intervention for K- 3 students who are at risk of reading failure to help ensure they read on grade level by the end of third grade. The policy also requires third grade students to demonstrate sufficient reading skills for promotion to fourth grade. Retention can…

The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to evaluate the long-term effects of Florida's Third-Grade Retention policy on low performing students' subsequent academic performance as measured by FCAT reading scores. The study included a random stratified sample of 1500 retained third graders for failure to meet Florida's…

Since the 1970s, federal civil rights legislation has mandated that school districts identify English language learners (ELLs) and provide them with services that allow them to fully participate in the educational system. The intent of this requirement is to ensure educational equity for students whose limited knowledge of English prevents them…

A Comprehensive K-3 Reading Policy establishes intensive reading intervention for K-3 students to ensure they read on grade level by the end of third grade. The policy then requires third grade students to demonstrate sufficient reading skills for promotion to fourth grade. Retention provides struggling readers the additional time and intensive…

"The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" (NCLB) made schools accountable for student performance through standardized testing. Some claim high-stakes testing is an inexpensive vehicle through which to raise educational standards, however, these studies typically count only the administrative costs of test development, test delivery, and…

A high percentage of ERP projects are classified as failures, leaving organizations with only partially functioning systems or, worse yet, with no ERP systems at all. Those that do succeed usually take significantly longer than expected and encounter staggering budget overruns. This Information Capsule summarizes 10 high profile ERP implementation…